<p>DD2 is waiting for acceptance/rejection from schools that are, mainly, reach schools. The school that on paper seems the best match-in her opinion-both acccepted her and offered her a lovely package - College of Wooster in Ohio.
I'm madly trying to find cheap airfare, but also trying to decide which date to pick for the visit, either the first weekend or 19/20th of April.
Waiting on Holy Cross, Skidmore, St.Michael's-Vt, none of which she was able to vist as well as Fordham and St. Mary's-MD, both of which she's visited. She loves each place as she visits them.
Do you parents think it's best to have her see Wooster first or later in the month after she sees any other schools-if they admit her and are in our price range. (price range turned out more complicated than we understood orginally-FAFSA and Profile can be run different ways)</p>
<p>We saw COW just before Thanksgiving. D liked it fine, but ultimately didn't apply. It was a grey time of year to visit, but the campus was still attractive. But I'd lean toward the later April date if you want every advantage -- things will probably be in bloom, and look all fresh and springy.</p>
<p>Sorry to disagree with binx...but, really, the best time to visit a campus is when the weather is grey and dismal! If you like it then...you'll definitely like it when the sun is shining! </p>
<p>Don't know that it will really make a difference when she visits...but...if it seems to be the best fit, might be best to go after the other schools have been seen. Then it will either clearly stand out as the best...or one of the other schools will overshadow it.</p>
<p>I'm trying to figure out the visit thing with most of the acceptances not even received yet. One we may not get until April 10. How expensive will THAT be to arrange a visit to the opposite coast before decision day. But, of course, he might not be accepted.</p>
<p>It's obviously very psychological, imo. You can't control the weather - it could rain during an expected nice time of year. So, I think it's guessing the psychology of it.</p>
<p>For me, visiting sooner is better. Let's hope she loves it. Assuming she does, she can look at each college she visits afterward in terms of whether it is better than COW or not. And if she doesn't love it? Better to know that before she visits the others.</p>
<p>Just my take on it. YMMV.</p>
<p>2boysima - Don't be sorry. Where's the discussion if we all agree? :) </p>
<p>Actually, I was trying to read between the lines of the OP, and thought the question might have been "when is the best time to get a favorable response?" You are, of course, right to visit when the weather is worst to see if she still loves it unconditionally. But many of the schools she listed are, I think, places that have "bad days." So if she visits other places later, in the pretty time, they may inadvertently gain the psychological edge. Or I may be reading more into the weather than its due.</p>
<p>Coincidence or not, my D liked schools she saw in better weather better than ones she saw on bad days. But I think it's more than just, gee, it's cold and wet here. It was more that the people, both students and employees, were happier, more welcoming, more informative, more generous on the good days. For example, when we visited Davidson, it was pouring out. Most of the scheduled visitors didn't show. People in the admissions office were cheering when they heard of one group or another cancelling, and I think they were a bit frustrated that we showed up. Unhappy faces due to going out in the rain were not intentionally directed at us, but still made us feel negatively received. Subliminal or not, we didn't end up getting good vibes, and D did not apply.</p>
<p>When my S and I visited Bucknell in January it was very windy and snowing (but not sticking). We were impressed with the way the kids reacted to the weather and thought that they would be even nicer (if that were possible) in warmer weather.
Although S has been accepted to Wake Forest, he has never toured the campus. He is going down next weekend for a presidential scholarship audition and interview (a little late in the process IMO) and can't wait to see the campus in the spring.
I think you have to try and look past the weather and the time of year because if you attend, you will be there in all kinds of weather.</p>
<p>I think if you can visit during a time when students are in their "real element" (meaning not during admitted students days when there is a real push to show how great "we" are) that would be better. When is the school holding their admitted student's days?</p>
<p>Is your daughter interested in sitting in on a class (that is unlikley to happen on a week end) or does she want to just get a feel for life outside of the classroom? If other kids are like my college kid is on the weekend unless something specific is going on they will be sleeping late, maybe grab something to eat, laundry (problably getting some reading done while the laundry is running), come back nap and then get up and dressed if they are hanging out with friends.</p>
<p>OP here. As to "when is best time to get a favorable response" it's more fear it's like me and dress shopping. I need a dress, I see the "perfect" one for 200 bucks. I bypass it and look at the sale dresses. Every sale dress looks yucky compared to the image of the great dress. Now I could try on the 200 dollar dress, it could look terrible and the the 50 dollar dresses will look better to me. Or it could look great and I'm stuck between wanting the 200 dollar one and the one I can afford.
Going later means we have any packages on hand, and MAY have other choices. She may be less inclined to think about the other choices (apply for that residential scholarship at Douglass/Rutgers for instance) because COW sounds so great. She might compare each college to the imaged COW experience.
Going early is good in that although we don't have any other packages (I assume) if she doesn't like it she has time to explore other options.
Bad weather is good..most of the school year is cold weather and snow at all these schools. Harder to find cheap airfare, at least so far. Downside is if she likes it (as she liked St. Mary's, Douglass and Fordham) she may not explore other schools with similar packages that are closer to home.
bottom line-where is the lottery fairy when I need one?
Children, what was I thinking?</p>
<p>as to the visit schedule - this includes an overnight in the dorm, and then attending classes on the following (monday or friday) morning.</p>
<p>Since COW is one of the top contenders, go as soon as possible. She'll see it as a standard by which to measure, and that's very helpful to someone making her first big decision in life. If it's satisfactory in every way, you will both be able to breathe a deep sigh of relief.</p>
<p>I understand your dress analogy, but you've developed that from a deeper perspective. Your child doesn't have that.</p>
<p>Spring weather in the midwest shouldn't be a factor, because no one has any idea what the weather will be like on any given day in April. This week we had 73 degrees on Tuesday but tonight we may be under 20. It's a complete gamble.</p>
<p>google farecast</p>
<p>see if it is offered for your local airport</p>
<p>you can set up alerts for destinations of interest</p>
<p>a great tool to decide when is the CHEAPEST time to take a trip</p>
<p>it forecasts if fares are going up or down and has all kinds of great money saving info</p>
<p>Well, this suggestion will cost you more in airfare, but..
if you wait until all acceptances/offers are in, then choose visit dates to maximize chances to see all schools with decent packages, then DD will truely make an informed decision/comparison.
If you pick a COW date now, and reserve flights, it's almost a sure bet that one of the other drivable schools will come in with a better offer and the same accepted student day as COW.
Just my 2cents</p>
<p>Should have just rented a plane and flown her from school to school this weekend. She's dressed in green and listening to Finnigan's Wake.
COW is Scots, which she is as well, but that Holy Cross and Fordham...they're truely hardcore I'm guessing.
On the other hand, at COW she can finally learn bagpipes and make her old ma happy. (g) Three musicians and not a dancer or piper in the bunch, though DS dated an Irish dancer. (mom, at the club you can get BEER if you are tall enough to ask)</p>
<p>I vote with those who suggest an early visit. Life just seems to be easier when students really like the most likely option for them. If she visits, then COW will become the benchmark against which the rest will be measured. The dress analogy is good.</p>
<p>OldinJersey - we're in the same boat with D accepted at Wooster and now Dickinson, and it's about a 5 hour drive betwixt the two, at least according to Mapquest. And still 3 more schools (in Ohio and PA) we haven't heard from yet. So while I'd still like her to overnight at her top two, she doesn't seem as anxious about it as I do. If I'm gonna send her 3000 miles away, I want her to be pretty sure.</p>
<p>D got waitlisted at a school for the sole reason she hadn't visited. We're visiting Wooster next week. She's been accepted there, nice package, and is excited about the school. Had I put much thought into it, I probably would've steered her into visiting schools she hasn't yet heard from, based on the waitlisted situation, but our time has been so limited due to her critical illness of two years. (School is very selective, and had told GC a month ago she was a shoe-in, then last week told GC they were "concerned" it wasn't her top choice so we planned a visit. After tickets bought, etc., GC told us he thought she was going to get waitlisted. We decided to visit since she had told them in her app she'd need to visit over Spring Break due to two-year illness eliminating time over past to visit anyone. When daughter called to set up appointments, etc., college did so and then told her at end of conversation that she would be waitlisted. Why would we want to visit - they've been nothing but manipulative to her, and my hard-earned money is going to go to schools that don't play last-minute games like that!</p>
<p>Wow, one of my son's top choices is a school he hasn't visited. He applied to 8 schools, but has only visited 3 -- two that are 20 minutes and 1 hour away, and one he visited instead of getting a birthday present/party. I couldn't afford to send him anywhere else. So maybe he won't get in to that one because we don't have the money to fly him all over the country? That would suck.</p>
<p>I don't think that Countdown's experience is all that common, if you live a great distance from the school and if your son has shown interest in other ways. (For example, emails to an an admission counselor, local alumni interview, etc.) Countdown's school sounds kind of quirky -- i do know that sometimes colleges get "stealth" applications -- applications that come out of the blue from people who were never on their mailing list, never so much as returned a post card... and they may very well look askance at those. </p>
<p>Anyway, my son applied to many colleges without visiting, and only visited the college he attended for the first time after he was admitted.</p>
<p>Well, part of his essay for that school was about being an academic groupie of one of the school's professors, so I guess that sort of expresses interest...</p>
<p>Still, I frequently worry about having him not visit more schools, but I couldn't even afford the application fees or things like that, so tons of visits are just out of the question.</p>